HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL TO HOLD SPECIAL SESSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SRI LANKA

The Human Rights Council will hold a special session to address the human rights situation in Sri Lanka following a request submitted today from Council members to convene the meeting. The session was requested to take place on Monday, 25 May in Room XX, the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The special session is being convened following the request submitted by Germany on behalf of the following 17 members of the Human Rights Council: Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Mauritius, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.

In order for a special session to be convened, the support of one-third of the membership of the Council (16 members or more) is required. Per Council rules, the list of sponsors for special sessions will remain open up to the holding of the meeting.

"It is hoped that the holding of this special session will contribute towards the cause of peace", stated Human Rights Council President Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi. "The Human Rights Council cannot be silent when innocent civilians are caught up in armed conflicts. The international community must strive to deliver justice to victims of human rights violations wherever they occur and ensure that those found guilty of such crimes are held accountable for their actions”, he added.

This will be the eleventh special session of the Human Rights Council. The Council’s previous special sessions related to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Darfur, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Global Food Crisis and the Global Economic and Financial Crises.